projectdiamond

And it’s not about the confidence gap, either

The recent flurry of interest in the gender pay gap has rightly put a spotlight on the differential in earnings between men and women.

Over ten thousand organisations recently returned their first gender pay gap reports and, whilst unsurprising for many, the statistics confirm a gap on average earnings in favour of men. In fact, nearly 80% of firms identify that men are, on average, earning more. Whilst it can be argued that it’s a bit of a blunt instrument, putting these data into the public domain and forcing organisations to think about what’s going on in their firms is a positive move.

But what is going on?

If it’s been illegal to pay men and women differently for the same work for decades, why are we still seeing a pay gap?

While the moral and business case for more equally distributed pay is abundantly clear, these new data are highlighting just how skewed a great many firms are in regard to not only pay, but access to higher earning roles and access to bonus structures for women. But, the problem here is not just simply about pay, there’s a complex mix of structural, cultural and social pressures in play that demands an intelligent and nuanced response if long lasting and effective resolutions are to be found to the inequity.

The low confidence woman – fact or myth?

It’s been a bit of a generally accepted mantra that women lack the confidence to move from middle management into leadership or higher paying roles. Indeed the ‘leaky funnel’ that delivers a sharp drop off of women making it into leadership, board or high paying roles in traditionally higher paying (but perhaps, traditionally male dominated) sectors is well established.

The argument is often put that if only women would fix themselves to be more confident, we’d be awash with women in board rooms and in leadership roles and engineering or as pilots for example. Or, if women would ‘just grow a set’ and be more aggressive in negotiating better bonuses, they’d be raking it in like the blokes.

If only they’d just fix themselves.

Well, it’s just not true. My research into women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics suggests that women do have confidence. Not the ‘in your face, bluff and bluster… ohhh look how fabulous I am’ type of confidence that others might have, and which is so often rewarded in the workplace, but a quiet confidence; an inner confidence that suggests if they had the opportunity they could take on the world. And be bloody good at it, too.

Where the deficiency lies is not within themselves, but in their lack of expectation that their confidence will transpire into making change happen around them. This is also known as self-efficacy. That is, can they, with their capability, talent and motivation actually make an impact in organisations that are fundamentally not set up for them or the way in which they work?

For example, women spoke of missing out on promotions because their career path had been built in such a way that they did not have access to the same experiences as their male colleagues, thus preventing them from meeting often arbitrary and antiquated advancement selection criteria.

Women talked of not being able to negotiate on the same terms for bonuses because the performance management processes failed to recognise the entirety of their contribution and over prioritised aspects to which they had little access.

Both young and mature women spoke of their experiences of feeling like a phoney in their own roles because it was implausible that they should be there as one of a handful of women in non-traditional roles (e.g. engineering and leadership). Several interviewees suggested that women were so rare in the boardroom and in senior leadership spaces that when asked, male board members had no idea where the female rest room was located. So too, it was not uncommon to hear stories of women attending meetings as a participant and being given the coats and coffee orders of male colleagues.

Women complained that their ideas were routinely discounted until expressed by a man and so their capacity to be heard and to be seen as making a valuable contribution was diminished.

These frequent micro (and not so micro) lapses of colleague judgement and systems failures converge to diminish a sense of control and a sense of entitlement to equity of opportunity as well as rewards.

It’s a complex mix

My research suggests that a complex mix of socially learned and culturally perpetuated opinions, behaviours and organisational structures are impacting on the individual’s capacity develop self-efficacy and to achieve more in their work and in their work environments. This inevitably means that both individuals and organisations must ‘unpick’ these elements and rebuild them in a manner that levels the playing field and provides equity of access as well as equity of pay for everyone. Without such an initiative the pay gap will remain.

Each of us gets fulfilment and satisfaction from our work in different ways. For some, they may want to be able to create brand new ideas or invent groundbreaking solutions. For others, they may not feel they have achieved much unless there is an empty inbox and all of their to do list has been completed. It is crucial to understand what your particular way is, so that you can understand what type of role or career is going to give you the most satisfaction and therefore greater chance of increased performance and greater opportunities.

Unconscious bias still prevails

Typically, we have pre-conceived ideas of what qualities are going to get us ahead in our chosen field. However, unconscious bias permeates many of these ideas, and as such, it is challenging to be treated according to what you can do rather than what is expected of you.

For example, studies have found that women are more able to multitask than men which would suggest that women are happiest when they are doing and completing tasks, which would make them ideal implementers within their organisation. In truth, women have the same drive to contribute in the same varied ways as men, and much of the frustration women feel when there are blocks on their career progression relate specifically to being put in the role of implementer when they feel they are better at creating new ideas or focusing on strategy.

Research by Zenger Folkman in 2012 suggested that men outscored women on “the ability to develop a strategic perspective”, although admitted that women outscored man of all of the other qualities measured. This is significant because if we think of senior leadership roles, and the qualities we expect to see these leaders exhibit, ability to think strategically would rank high. With research seemingly validating the opinion that women can’t be strategic, this may go some way to explaining why it is so difficult to get a woman in a senior position with as much credibility as would be afforded a man.

It is critical to understand the type of contribution you like to make at work, so that you can understand whether such preconceptions are going to limit your opportunities to grow your career the way you want. You may be able to develop skills that do not come naturally, but we know that when organisations place people in roles that play to their strengths, the better they perform and the more engaged they are.

By knowing your particular preferences, you can have a meaningful conversation on where you can add most value to your team, and in turn can challenge those pre-conceived ideas that may be impeding your ability to show your full potential.

Our research reveals the following Five Factors that are key to influencing women’s sucess. In order to establish these, we interviewed successful business women, in particular our Women in the City Woman of Achievement Award Winners, and we also compared and contrasted how women and men typically behave in certain workplace scenarios.

Factor 1: The importance of taking risks

WiC award winners have emphasised how much risk-taking is important to their sucess; we learn by our mistakes. We understand that women’s reticence to taking a risk is partly in-born, but you can learn the courage to take more risks.

How to be more comfortable with risk

Recognise and accept that taking a risky option may make you feel stressed and anxious.

Understand that taking risks will help you stand out from the crowd. This is a tactic men naturally use to get ahead.

Ask directly for challenging assignments and don’t be shy about explianing why you deserve the opportunity. You don’t need to justify with a long list; doing so will weaken your case.

Learn not to take rejection or failure personally; men don’t and see it as a sign of weaness in those who do.

Men will go to great lengths to be included at the next level on the ladder of success. They “brag” about their accomplishments, ensure that they’re seen with the “right people” in the “right places” and do everything they can to assert themselves. A woman often senses that if she’s not invited, she’s not welcome. Men, on the other hand, will assume that if he’s not invited, he’s not yet earned his way.

How to “earn” your way

Send regular reports to managers and let them see positive correspondence from clients or colleagues.

Learn to take credit for your success. In a mixed audience, take the credit first and then acknowledge the help of others.

In a male audience, don’t pay too much credit to others, as this minimizes your own impact.

Don’t feel the need to back up your assertions with reasons, explanations or negative emotions.

Factor 3: Why being ambitious and competitive will help you be the best

Without an understanding of the men’s rules – about scoring points – in the workplace, men may appear to women as arrogant and insensitive, but they are just doing their job and respecting the ‘rules’ which they believe govern the workplace. Ultimately “men’s rules” and “women’s manners” are not better than the other, they are just different.

Men score points with other men by demonstrating competence with the score being based on how big the achievement is. Winning = gains points. Losing = loses points. Women score points with other women by doing things that demonstrate caring. It’s not about scale, but how much personal consideration is given. Competence and achievement are not the main objectives.

How to win and lose points

Men will subtract points from women if she does a great job but then complains how difficult it was!

Focus on delivering the task at hand to win points.

Minimise your complaints or excuses; keep those thoughts to yourself and don’t give anyone the opportunity to subtract points.

Give advice only when it is welcome or asked for.

If conflict arises, try to accept it and not take it personally.

Understand what siuations can make you emotional and develop coping strategies to help keep that emotion under wraps.

Minimize small talk in male company.

In public, build up your male colleagues’ confidence – this will give you more points.

Factor 4: How to influence both men and women and get a mentor and sponsor

Women’s careers are influenced by several factors which do not affect men’s careers in the same way – the process of career development to a senior leadership role is very different for women, compared to men.

Sponsors can promote you and be an advocate for you to senior executives within the industry, mentors can help you reflect, give feedback, resources and help you navigate corporate politics and to access to the corporate power structure.

It’s not so much who you know as who knows you.

Create a list of people who could be critical to your success and get to know them. Some may be sponsors, some mentors and the others your wider network of relationships.

Jon networks and make sure you put as much in as you want to get out.

Don’t be afraid to approach people and ask them to be your mentor; good mentors will be pleased to be asked and tell you if they can’t dedicate enough time to you or if they think someone else is better placed to help.

Drive the relationship wth your mentor but quickly acknowledge if the chemistry doesn’t work and end the relationship cleanly and non-personally.

Choose both male and female mentors.

Seek a sponsor – someone who is senior and active enough within the organisation (sector) for them to be able to showcase and be an advocate for you.

Factor 5: The value of being flexible, gaining broad professional experience and being motivated by change

Successful people have the ability to express different parts of who they are at different times, according to what is appropriate to meet their ends. The more experience we have, the more we are able to adapt swiftly to situations around us. Seeing change as an opportunity to put yourself forward and to demonstrate competence in a broad arena is a strong way of scoring points in the competitive workplace.

How to succeed

Look for challenging, unsual opportunities and ask for them.

Use your network to find “left field” opportunities which you might not normally consider.

The broader your competences, the more professional respect you will earn.

Talk bout change in a matter of fact manner.

Resist the opportunity to have emotional conversatons about the issues of change in an open environment. You’ll just lose points!!!

Invitation to Information Session – 28 March, 9.00-10.30am

The University of Bath will be running a 5-day Women in Leadership Programme in May-June 2018.

The programme is designed to develop the critical leadership skills and practices to support your career aspirations. Professor Veronica Hope Hailey, a world authority on leadership and trust and listed in the top 10 HR most Influential UK Thinkers will lead the programme.

Today’s business environment has never been more challenging for women in senior leadership roles. Working with other senior women leaders you will learn how to leverage your personal leadership style, overcome the barriers to success and develop your career in times of change.

Veronica Hope Hailey was outstanding. She is not only highly engaging, hugely experienced and draws on that experience to inform the sessions, she is able to switch into understanding of settings with which she is not familiar and provide opportunities to explore these.

Women are now entering the workplace in equal numbers to men and do so with greater expectations than previously.

However, despite over half a century of progress, the rising importance of female purchasing power and the acceptance of the need for a more feminized working culture, the business world is still dominated by masculine values and women are still experiencing discrimination, sexual harassment and disparity in their remuneration. This is nothing short of shocking.

Whether there’s a glass-ceiling, sticky floor or a concrete-maze with no-one to guide the way, there’s definitely a leaky pipeline with insufficient women holding senior roles.

Women are told to speak up at meetings, to have gravitas, to be more assertive – but within moderation, of course – and to become what is often described as “men in skirts”.

Some thrive, some jump ship. However, they don’t usually bow out of playing their part in the economic life of the country. They may be seeking more flexible working practices or they may want to work in a culture that more readily accepts diversity of thought, values and behaviours. In short, they simply want to find an authentic way to succeed.

Project Diamond started its life 2013, as part of Women in the City’s 10th anniversary celebrations. At that time, it was a publication. Today, we’re repurposing the brand and bringing it to life once again via this microwebsite.

We are creating a platform to help women succeed and men understand that women’s ambitions equal theirs. We want to stimulate discussion, bring inspiration, information and innovation to create a more inclusive, supportive and successful working environment for all. We want to challenge the assumptions, attitudes and beliefs that tell women that they have to approach career growth differently than men, giving sound career and leadership advice without the ‘as a woman’ tag. It’s not about fixing the women, it’s about giving them the tools to “bring brilliance to business.”

The drive and openness towards women’s equality over the last 12 months has inspired us to smash the current framework of support women get to make the most of their opportunities and create bold and defiant approaches that challenge women to be the best they can be – and challenge society to accept it.

Working in partnership with a range of organisations and collaborators we are building a resource that